Commentary & Community

It has been three decades since Congress approved Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the nation’s permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel. Over that time, a generation of Nevada’s politicians have fought the opening of this site. Legislation advancing in Congress may finally put this issue to a rest, leaving Nevadans with the prospect of Yucca Mountain finally opening.

In early May, the House of Representatives approved legislation that would re-start the process of moving the nation’s nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. This site was first approved by legislation in 1987, but funding for this project was stopped during the Obama Administration. Currently, spent fuel from nuclear power plants is stored at temporary facilities across the U.S. Yucca Mountain is envisioned as a permanent place to store this waste, buried underground in a geologic formation that is designed to prevent leakage.

Senator Harry Reid was a leading figure in fighting the opening of Yucca Mountain. He not only represented Nevada in the Senate, he also spent many years in Democratic leadership positions in that body. He used this influence to thwart efforts to finalize plans to use Yucca Mountain.

Supporters of Yucca Mountain say that it is a remote facility that has an ideal geologic composition to store nuclear waste safely for millennia. Opponents contend that it will poses huge risks to move nuclear waste from across the U.S. to Nevada, and that this facility is dangerously close to Las Vegas.

Even though Nevada’s House members opposed the recent legislation to move forward with Yucca Mountain’s planning process, the bill passed by a vote of 340-72. The bill garnered the support of both Democrats and Republicans. Nevada’s senators have vowed to do all they can to stop this legislation in the Senate, but it is unclear if they have enough votes to sustain a filibuster.

Do you support opening Yucca Mountain as a permanent storage facility for nuclear waste?

President Donald Trump has a plan for border security. Part of his vision involves sending National Guard troops to assist federal Border Patrol agents. One Republican governor disagrees with his party’s president on this idea.

Governor Brian Sandoval of Nevada said that using National Guard troops in this way was not appropriate. This places him at odds with other Republican governors in the region. The governors of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas back President Trump’s proposal.

President Trump has not yet requested that Governor Sandoval call up his state’s National Guard troops to help with this project. If Governor Sandoval refuses the president’s request to do so, Trump could nationalize the troops and take control away from the governor. It is unclear if the president would do this, however.

This dispute comes amidst the president’s calls to reform the nation’s immigration laws and construct a border wall. In the recent omnibus budget bill, Congress denied funds to build such a wall. There has not been any effort on immigration reform legislation in the House of Representatives or the Senate, either.

President Trump can request the use of National Guard troops without congressional approval. The president said he would do so, with plans to send 2,000 to 4,000 Guard members to the border region. They would assist the Border Patrol with surveillance and other support services.

Do you think that governors should refuse to let their state’s National Guard troops assist on border patrol duty? Or is President Trump right that National Guard troops are needed to help stop drug trafficking and illegal immigration?

Recreational marijuana use became legal in Nevada in early July. Unfortunately for Nevadans who wanted a legal high, the state’s distribution system caused supply to lag behind demand. Now regulators are relaxing rules in order to ensure a steady flow of weed.

Initially, state law only allowed alcohol wholesalers to distribute marijuana to retail outlets around the state. Nevadans’ demand for marijuana overwhelmed this system, however. There were over 40,000 transactions in the first few days of legalization, leading to shortages.

This prompted Gov. Brian Sandoval to declare a state of emergency. The state tax commission met and set new rules so that entities other than alcohol wholesalers could distribute marijuana. They hope that this will alleviate problems with retail outlets running low.

While Nevada officials had a rough time getting their system up and running, it does show that the state stands to reap significant tax revenue by allowing recreational marijuana use. The state imposes a 15% tax on wholesalers and a 10% tax on retail sales. The state projects that this will lead to $100 million in new tax revenue.

This influx of revenue could tempt lawmakers in other states to consider following the lead of Nevada and other states that legalize and tax recreational marijuana use.

Do you think that marijuana should be legal? Or do you support laws that make it illegal for people to use the drug recreationally?

Check out this key bill voted on by elected officials in Nevada,check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Assembly Bill 2, Expand Patriot Relief Act Payments for National Guard: Passed 21 to 0 in the state Assembly on March 27, 2017.

To make all National Guard members experiencing hardship eligible for payments from this state account, not just those on active duty, and to clarify that payment of benefits from the Account can be made only if there is money in the account.

Check out this key bill voted on by elected officials in Nevada,check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Senate Bill 201, Ban Conversion Therapy for Minors: Passed 31 to 8 in the state Senate on May 9, 2017.

To prohibit psychotherapists from providing conversion therapy, generally described as counseling designed to change a person's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual, to a person who is under 18 years of age.

Check out this key bill voted on by elected officials in Nevada,check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Assembly Bill 99, Accommodating LGBTQ Youth in the Foster Care System: Passed 18 to 2 in the state Assembly on April 4, 2017.

To revise statutes and require new regulations pertaining to the Nevada foster care system to require that youth in out-of-home placements must be treated, in all respects, in accordance with the child's gender identity or expression, regardless of their assigned sex at birth.

Check out this key bill voted on by elected officials in [State],check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Senate Bill 153, Limit the Presumption That Certain Diseases in Police and Firefighters are Work-Related: Passed 36 to 6 in the state Assembly on May 22, 2017.

To limit the presumption that heart and lung diseases contracted by police and firefighters are work-related for the purposes of industrial insurance and disability benefits. Under current law, these diseases are presumed to be job-related when contracted by all police or firefighters with certain years of service. The bill would reduce the period of time in which the disease must be diagnosed after leaving the job, restrict the ability of those who use tobacco or do not follow doctors’ recommendations from collecting benefits and limit the benefits paid to those who are diagnosed after retirement to medical benefits only.

Check out this key bill voted on by elected officials in Nevada,check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Senate Bill 440, Require transportation network companies, like Uber and Lyft, to obtain written agreements from major hotels before drivers may pick up passengers at these locations: Passed 32 to 8 in the state Senate on June 1, 2015.

Require transportation network companies, like Uber and Lyft, to obtain written agreements from major hotels before drivers may pick up passengers at these locations

Check out this key bill voted on by elected officials in Nevada,check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Assembly Bill 462, To require a voter to provide identification at a polling place under certain circumstances: Passed 25 to 17 in the state Assembly on April 20, 2017 and 14 to 7 in the state Senate on May 19, 2017

To prohibit a candidate from holding an elected office if a court declares before the election that the candidate does not meet the qualifications for the office. The bill would also require that a candidate use the address at which the individual actually resides as the address to qualify for an elected office.

Check out this key bill voted on by elected officials in Nevada,check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Assembly Bill 99: Accommodating LGBTQ youth in the foster care system: Passed 26 to 15 in the state Assembly on March 9, 2017 and 18 to 2 in the state Senate on April 4, 2017

To revise statutes and require new regulations pertaining to the Nevada foster care system to require that youth in out-of-home placements must be treated, in all respects, in accordance with the child's gender identity or expression, regardless of their assigned sex at birth.

Check out this key bill passed by elected officials in Nevada,check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Senate Bill 201, Ban conversion therapy for minors: Passed 15 to 5 in the state Senate on April 4, 2017 and 31 to 8 in the state Assembly on May 9, 2017

To prohibit psychotherapists from providing conversion therapy, generally described as counseling designed to change a person's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual, to a person who is under 18 years of age.

Check out this key bill passed by elected officials in Nevada,check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Senate Bill 111, Allow unscheduled audits of state agencies: Passed 21 to 0 in the state Senate on February 22, 2017

To give the Chair of the Executive Branch Audit Committee unilateral authority to direct the Administrator of the Division of Internal Audits to audit an executive branch agency not slated for audit in its annual plan.

Check out this key bill passed by elected officials in Nevada,check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Senate Bill 45, Remove requirement for state inspection of public university buildings: Passed 21 to 0 in the state Senate on February 22, 2017

To eliminate the requirement that the State Public Works Division periodically inspect all buildings at the State universities. All buildings and physical plant facilities owned by any part of the Nevada System of Higher Education would be exempt from the requirement of periodic state inspections.

Check out this key bill recently passed by elected officials in Nevada, check-in to the VoteSpotter app to see how your legislators voted, and comment below to share what you think!

Senate Bill 70, Dispose of items left at veterans memorials: Passed 21 to 0 in the state Senate on February 14, 2017

To allow the Director of the Department of Veterans Services to transfer abandoned or unclaimed property, such as those items occasionally left at shrines or memorials, to entities such as the Nevada State Museum, the Nevada Historical Society, and any other governmental agency or nonprofit entity. The Director must first, however, create and publish a formal policy regarding the transfer, destruction, or other disposal of suchabandoned or unclaimed property.